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Chapter Three

Not every pureblood Wolfen follows the same religious path as the Varg. While the Varg believe that Fenrir is the more powerful of the two gods, there is a group of Wolfen that feel that Fenris, or Tellah as they refer to her, is the stronger of the two gods. In fact, this group sees Fenrir as nothing more than a celestial guardian whose job was to protect Tellah and her creations until her return. These Wolfen also believe that they have a deep connection to the world of Arora; a connection so deep that it is the source of their mystical powers. The Wollfen's powers vary from the elemental to the spiritual and they can be performed as if it was a natural ability. The Varg call this group of Wolfen "Oak Seers." The relationship between the two Wolfen groups has always been complicated. As the Varg continue to conquer and modernize the world, most Seers believe that they are killing the spirit of Aurora and thus pushing all life towards a certain apocalypse. While there are a few Seers who refuse to step in and interrupt what their "wayward brothers" are doing, a few Seers have taken it upon themselves to confront the Varg. They had left their forest dwellings and had assisted other races during wars, sabotaged construction of roads and towns, ruined crops, and even attempted assassinations. The most dangerous of Oak Seers were the Ravenbloods.

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After making sure the close was clear, Natasha uttered a few words under her breath and a fire appeared before the three canines. There was no fuel for the fire and it wasn't even resting on the ground. The flame was just hovering in front of them, providing the warmth and light they would need while Natasha told her story in the dark night.

"As you know, Naheta," the wolfess mother began, "we belong to a sect of Wolfen whom the Empire likes to refer to as 'Oak Seers.' We worship Tellah over Fenrir, we use 'unscientific and barbaric' magic, we live close to or in the wilderness, and we disapprove their use of steel over words to solve disputes." Natasha paused for a moment to make sure the young fox was paying attention. Satisfied with Naheta's look of engrossment, the wolf continued.

"Our clan the Ravenbloods, were different from the rest of Tellah's pack. We were more bold and vocal about how we felt about the Empire's intentions. Their plan to conquer the world of Arora, and cleanse it of those races that they deemed a blasphemy to Fenrir, was something that couldn't have been ignored. We knew that the path they were travelling on was a road towards the possible destruction of every living thing on Arora. We, the Ravenblood clan, took it on ourselves to prevent this. First, we tried to persuade them to change their tyrannous ways. We knew it would be futile, the Wolfen of the Empire are as proud and stubborn as the Guardian they mimic themselves after. So we decided to try and use more severe measures. The clan moved from their forest homes and assimilated themselves into society. We would spy on our wayward kin, and sabotage their efforts anyway we could. However, it seemed that for every plan that was thwarted there would be another two prepared as a backup. It wouldn't take the Empire long to figure out who the spies were and capture them...and execute them."

Natasha's ears went flat as she became silent. Memories of her family members that she had lost as a little pup flashed through her mind's eye and she sighed. "A large group of us decided that spying and sabotage wasn't good enough anymore," she continued, "If the Empire was willing to sacrifice their own Wolfen blood to fulfill their goals, we must be willing to do the same. A few of the elders went out to help the other races that the Empire was targeting, by lending them their magical prowess. Some of the younger ones went with them to assist in spell casting and in physical fighting, if the need arose. But as those races fell, so did the clan members that were trying to help. A tiny few tried to infiltrate and assassinate the Empire's generals. Those few went on to share a similar fate as our spies. Our numbers had dwindled down to a sparse amount and what was left of our clan grew desperate and felt that forbidden magic was the only way to stop this war machine...It was seventeen cycles ago. I was only fourteen and had just begun to control my magical powers. However, with so few of us remaining I was forced to help perform a forbidden ritual that we thought would put an end to the Empire's ambitions." Natasha stopped talking and looked up to meet her fox daughter's eyes. "Naheta, do you remember what I taught you about our people's connection with magic?"

Naheta had been completely enthralled in her mother's story and the sudden question caught her off guard. "Umm, y-yes of course," she folded her arms and thought for a moment before answering, "The Wolfen of Tellah are born with a natural affinity to certain types of magic. Most of the time it is something involving one of the natural elements: like you with air or Alexia with plants. Some are instead born being able to communicate and control wild life as their magic. Others can commune with spirits, and there are even rare occurrences of Wolfen having a connection with the fairy folk."

"They are called Fae, little sister," corrected Alexia, who had also been silent but did not appear to be interested in the story her mother was telling. Naheta snorted at her sister and continued on, "Also, because the Wolfen of Tellah are so attune to magic they can pick up other forms of magic faster than most."

Natasha nodded in satisfaction, "Very good, Naheta. Yes, we are able to learn other forms of magic however usually it is to enhance what we are already comfortable with. For example, to further enhance my natural ability with air I went out to learn some aeromancy from the Owlwens off the southern coast," Natasha then turned her head and glanced in the direction of Alexia, "Your sister, if she chooses to, could go out and learn herbamancy from the Equus or study the lost art of ecomancy, if she could get a hold of some lost tomes."

"You are straying from the topic of conversation, mother," Alexia stated coldly. Naheta could not tell if her sister was still upset over the fight from earlier, their mother being back after disappearing for so long, or if it was something that might be connected with story being told. In any case, Alexia was not going to get into a lighter mood for the occasion.

Natasha frowned at her daughter, but nodded, "Yes, you are right," she turned her head back to Naheta and began to explain why she had stray away from the story, "Naheta while learning magic that best connects with our talents is preferred, it is possible to learn spells that are not connected with our gifts. The ritual that our clan ended up performing was a prime example."

"What kind of magic was it?" Naheta asked, innocently.

"Summoning," her mother answered. "In our case, the summoning of a demon."

Naheta's eyes grew wide. She had heard of demons in school, but it was always a taboo subject to teach to children unless connected to religious text. Even then, the descriptions on them were vague at best and it always ended in the demon getting slain by a knight or a priestess. It felt as if they were metaphors used to teach children lesson of what not to do, rather than actual creatures of evil. Now, she was about to hear about her mother's involvement in summoning a real demon and the thought made the fox excited if not a little scared.

"With my father as one of the leaders, the remaining members of the clan decided to try and summon a demon in hopes that it would lend its power to the clan to stop the Empire. It was a foolish act done by the foolish and desperate. It drained most of our magic, but the demon was summoned. It was a rather forceful summoning and as a result the demon was placed in a frenzied state, lashing out and killing everyone that was in its path. That is, everyone except for me. When it had gotten to me it had calmed down from its rage and began to study me as if I was some weird creature. It reached out to my mind and spoke to me with its own. He was not pleased with being dragged to the mortal world the way he had been, but was grateful that he had arrived. He saw it as an opportunity for himself and his master, but what he meant by that he never told me." Natasha was now glaring at the fire her expression had changed from that of sorrow and regret to that of hatred and frustration, "I cannot remember what the monster looked like when he first appeared, but I cannot forget what he looked like after. He transformed himself into a Wolfen like us. Only he had pure white fur from top to bottom. His eyes were changed to blue and he had white hair. If I had not been a part of his summoning, I would have thought him to be a messenger of Tellah. But a messenger would not have done what that creature did to me that night."

Natasha subconsciously grasped at her stomach and became silent. After several moments and a few questioning looks from Naheta, Alexia decided to finish the story.

"The demon decided to give mother a "reward" for releasing him upon the world," Alexia paused for a moment. She knew Naheta was as mature as a kit could get at her age, but she still felt uncomfortable explaining the full details of that night to her little sister and she had to rethink how to deliver the story's finish. "Well," she continued her voice showing a hint of uneasiness that she felt inside, "the result of said "reward" was me. That demon is the source of half of the blood that flows in my veins."

In an instant, a full range of emotions hit Naheta at once and expressed themselves on her face: confusion, horror, anger, sympathy, sadness, and helplessness all appeared one after the other. Tears had formed in the young fox girl's eyes by the time anger had shown itself, and they were streaming down her cheeks like a river when the feeling of helplessness hit her. She wanted to reach out and hug her mother and sister both, but the expression that she saw on Alexia's face kept her from approaching her after embracing Natasha. Although, how can emptiness be considered a look of expression? The emotion that had made itself known in Alexia's voice was completely void in her eyes. There was no sign of uneasiness. No sign of hatred for the circumstances of her birth. No bitterness of anger. No love or sympathy for her mother. None of the passion that was so clear during the argument earlier. Only a cold emptiness was left. The sight was unsettling for Naheta.

"Alexia...don't you care?" the fox was able to finally ask.

"Of course I do..." her wolf sister started to reply before being cut off by Naheta.

"Then why don't you show it?"

Alexia took a deep breath and exhaled through her nose before speaking, "I don't know. I honestly cannot answer that." She stood up and looked towards the path they came from before turning back to face her sister and mother. "I would always get enraged whenever I remember that story. What it did to our mother. How it made her how she is now. And the fact that she was still just a child when he poisoned her. But now I do not know. Would it make you feel better that I am feeling a little scared at myself for not caring about it right now?" Naheta gave her sister a confused look and asked her what she was afraid of. "I fear that maybe it is a sign that I am becoming more like a demon; a creature that cares little about the suffering of another." Alexia walked to the other side of two and knelt down. "I think the three of us should make our way home. And I think it would be best if we went in silence. If you have any more questions about what you heard. Let us wait until morning to answer them."

Naheta nodded gloomily and the two sisters helped their mother to her feet and travelled back to the cottage.